On January 22, 2014 the Affordable Care Act staff joined Thresholds and The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless to provide enrollment assistance at the Willow Chicago Ministry Center.  Consumers were eager to obtain bilingual assistance in enrolling in health care coverage and learn about the new option available to them through the Affordable Care Act.  For more information about our services please contact us at 773-227-7794.

by Hope Poirier

Staff and Centro Infantil kids exploring the Albizu Campos high school greenhouse, just upstairs from the daycare. This was the first visit for them so they were really excited. They are used to going to the park in the summer and seeing plants and things outside but never inside. Maria (Teacher in the blue) was telling the children what kind of plants they were and also telling them how what is being grown relates to what they eat. The children asked a lot of questions.  As 1 and 2 year olds they are very curious as to what everything was.

At the end of 2013, nine senior students braved the elements for a service trip to Casa Central with Mr. Buss and Ms. Pooley.  It was a brisk walk, but all were in good spirits as the sun shone and we made our way to the community center.  While many opportunities exist for service work with senior citizens at Casa Central, our students had the chance to assist in the daycare with 3-4 year old children.

Clemente students read to the boys and girls, played games, taught them to make snowflakes from paper, and assisted with snack time and anything else the teachers asked of them. All in all it was a very good time had by all, and a rewarding day of service.  We may even have some natural teachers within our student population!

The Greater Humboldt Park Diabetes Empowerment Center is now offering a new class focused around Nutrition and Weight Control. This class also serves as a support network where participants discuss strategies to implement healthier practices in their lives. Participants get an opportunity to check-in weekly with their peers on questions or ideas about their healthy goals or progress, difficulties and begin to think about solutions together. 

The Nutrition and  class is FREE and open to the public. The class is facilitated by Diana Chen and Jalia Tucker, both medical students at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science.   

The Nutrition and Weight Control class is facilitated in English and Spanish. Healthy snacks are provided. Class takes place every Monday from 5:30PM to 6:30PM at The Greater Humboldt Park Diabetes Empowerment Center located at 2753 W. Division St.

Please feel free to call 773-342-0855 for further details and to sign up for the class.

Every Wednesday, you can find Raul Maldonado at the Logan Square Public Library. Raul is available to assess an individual's health insurance needs and to give presentations to groups visiting the library. Raul was born and raised in Puerto Rico and is certified to provide as a Navigator.  The next time you visit the Logan Square Public Library, be sure to see Raul and learn about your health insurance options!

The Logan Square Local Library is located at 3030 W Fullerton, Chicago IL 60647. Please call our 1112 N. California Ave. office at 773.227.7794 for more information and to enroll in a health insurance plan.

This past Saturday Vida/SIDA's Mpowerment program Generation L along with The C.R.U., Calor A.C.E,  and Project PrEPare held "Noche De Fiestas" at Latin Rhythms . A night full of music, food, raffles, and a drag show by many Chicago drag performers.  The night was intended to bring HIV prevention and awareness to LGBTQ youth of Chicago.  

Vida/SIDA's very own Milani Ninja was one of the hosts along with Zumiyah Rayne. Pedro Mercado was the photographer of the night. This was the first time all the Latino Mpowerment programs collaborated together. It brought youth of all ages and different communities together in a fun night. HIV testing & counseling was provided by Vida/SIDA as well as A.C.E. & The C.R.U. This night showed the strong unity of the Latino LGBTQ community of Chicago as they closed the night with dancing and laughing together. 

The Keep Your Heart Healthy initiative is hosted at The Greater Humboldt Park Diabetes Empowerment Center (2753 W. Division St.) every Saturday from 10AM-2PM.  We encourage community residents to come and take a FREE heart health screening with our medical residents and learn your risk for heart disease or heart attack. This screening only requires your weight, height and blood pressure be measured followed by a short survey. All participants will have access to referrals to our partner hospitals or clinics and those found at risk are eligible for assistance with making an appointment for follow-up care. While participants wait to be screened they may participate in a number of activities ranging from nutrition education, healthy cooking demonstrations with recipes and food samples or fun Dance Aerobics and Zumba group exercise.

In participating in our FREE Keep Your Heart Healthy screenings, participants can also ask doctors or medical residents questions about their health and consult on advice on their future medical care.

Keep Your Heart Healthy will be hosting healthy heart screenings at various organizations and agencies in the Humboldt Park area. If you'd like for us to host a Keep Your Heart Healthy Screening event at your agency please contact Magdalena (Maggie) Nava at magdalenan@prcc-chgo.org or 773-342-0855.

A coalition of progressive people, community activist and leaders with the waving of Puerto Rican flags,  alarmed about recent epitaphs printed in the "New York Post",  protested in front of the main offices on 47th Street in Manhattan under the extreme cold on January 20, 2014. They were outraged by defamatory statements of several articles published during the week against  the Puerto Rican community. Strangely, the New York Post flagrant discriminatory statements against recently elect speaker to the New York City Council, Melissa Mark Viverito, a Puerto Rican woman,  takes place while the city, the nation and the citizenship honored Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday.  We can vividly remember Dr. Martin Luther King's famous quote "Do not measure a person by their color of their skin (or national origin), but by the content of their character".  

It seems the New York Post has missed the boat completely and is still living in pre-reconstruction era. The protestors were extremely upset how the New York Post has spoken against Melissa Mark Viverito's because she supported Puerto Rican Political Prisoner Oscar Lopez Rivera.  In 2011, Mark Viverito supported the parole hearing of Oscar Lopez Rivera by writing a letter in his favor. Puerto Rican patriot Oscar has been  in prison for more than 32 years on charges of "seditious conspiracy" ,sentenced to 70 years and his release has been widely supported by the whole of the Puerto Rican society, international community and Noble prize winners. If anything the "New York Post" should write about it is of the exceptional moral stature of Mark Viverito's character and how consistent it is with what Dr. Martin Luther king was referring to when he pronounced his famous quote.

El día de ayuno terminará con un acto de oración de

7:00 pm a 12:00 de la medianoche en la Catedral Dulce Nombre de Jesús de Caguas. Contaremos con la participación del Obispo Rubén Antonio González Medina y otros y otras distinguidos/as participantes.

"Estuve preso/a y me visitaste". Mateo 25:36